This invention relates generally to a novel apparatus for use in conjunction with the automated filling of a drum or fluid container with liquids which may be highly corrosive.
In the past, it has been common to employ electronically controlled apparatus for the filling of drums with the aformentioned fluids. The drum is manually positioned beneath a fill valve, with the fill valve, which may be of the subsurface filling type, being then manually or automatically lowered into the drum through the filler-fitting or bung for filling the drum with a fluid. Heretofore, the available filler-fitting alignment apparatus has not been accurate enough to consistently position the filler-fitting directly in alignment with the fill valve so as to not require manual positioning of the filler-fitting or the fill valve prior to insertion of the fill valve into the drum. The accuracy of the location of the filler-fitting can be appreciated by comparing the size of fitting available with the size of fill valve commonly used. In one application, the opening of the fitting measures two inches in diameter, while the fill valve, which must fit through the opening, measures 13/4ths inches in diameter. Thus, there is a tolerance of only 1/8th inch around the circumference of the outer surface of the fill valve between that surface and the inner surface of the filler-fitting. One can readily appreciate that misalignment of the fill valve will require the operator controlling the filling operation to stop the automated sequence, approach the area of the fill operation, manually adjust the position of the drum, and restart the filling sequence. This problem is amplified when highly corrosive fluids are being packaged, with a great increase in hazard to the operator as the fill station is approached.
Further, the apparatus is useful in filling a drum with any fluid or granulated material in that the necessity of having an operator locate the filler-fitting of a drum, commonly referred to in the industry as a bung, is eliminated. Thus, the containerization of fluids or granulated materials can be completely automated, removing the operator from the vicinity of the filling operation, which, of course, increases the safety associated with the filling of the drums and renders the operation less labor intensive.